


baby

by jaemarked



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Basketball, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Athletes, Fluff, M/M, Making Out, Promposals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24120235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaemarked/pseuds/jaemarked
Summary: “Jaehyun Jung!” Mark shouted into the mic.“Oh my god.”“I know I’m a junior but you still haven’t asked me, so I’m taking matters into my own hands! Will you do me the honour of being my prom date, my rose coloured boy?”
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Mark Lee
Comments: 17
Kudos: 257





	baby

**Author's Note:**

> yeah this fic was literal hell to write. it was initially supposed to be around 4k and somehow i have tripled my word count.

“Hey, Jae. Looking for Mark?”

Jaehyun stopped in his tracks as Yuta called out to him. He was standing near the water fountain with Jungwoo and Sicheng, the three of them dressed in athletic gear.

“Hey,” Jaehyun replied, flashing a smile. “Yes, I am. Have you seen him?”

“Pretty sure he had Robotics with Xuxi last period,” Jungwoo offered, referring to his boyfriend, Yukhei. “Room 1022, at the end of the hall.” 

“Thanks,” Jaehyun said with a nod, beelining past the rows of lockers and dodging past groups of teenagers drifting through the halls. There was never a rush to leave when the bell rang; most kids stuck around to hang out with their friends or participated in extracurricular activities.

He pushed open the door to 1022, but his boyfriend was nowhere in sight. Yukhei was seated atop one of the desks, deep in discussion with Kunhang and the teacher, but otherwise the classroom was empty.

“Hi, Jaehyun. If you’re looking for Mark, he already left,” Yukhei informed him. Jaehyun said a quick “thank you” before retreating from the room, shutting the door gently behind him. Taking out his phone, he typed out another _where u at_ message despite his original one having gone unanswered. Sighing, he shoved his phone into his pocket and sped down the hall towards the closest staircase, thinking he’d check if Mark was at his locker.

“Jaehyun!” 

Jaehyun skidded to a stop, nearly stumbling over his own feet as he spun around to catch who called his name. Doyoung, the Vice President of the student body, was holding a ladder as Taeyong, the President, balanced carefully on the top step, the corner of a banner clutched in one hand. The other side was already pinned up, the cloth proudly displaying their school’s name and mascot.

“What do you think of the banner? It’s for the championship game tomorrow,” Doyoung said, waving at the banner with one hand. Jaehyun sighed internally but forced a smile on his face. Finding Mark would have to wait.

“It looks amazing, Doie! I’m sure we’ll win with your support,” Jaehyun promised, eyes flickering over the design again. It really did look amazing, with vivid colours and carefully painted letters. 

“Good luck!” Taeyong chirped as he finally got the banner onto the hook. He slowly descended down the ladder on wobbly legs as Doyoung fretted, holding his hands out to spot Taeyong. Luckily, the president made it to the ground safely, and he immediately threw his arms around Jaehyun’s neck. Used to it, Jaehyun’s hands automatically came up to support Taeyong’s waist. “We’ll be cheering for you!”

He smacked a quick peck to Jaehyun’s cheek, pulling away to make space for Doyoung who kissed Jaehyun’s other cheek before looping his arm around Taeyong’s and dragging him away. His friends were so affectionate, and he was still trying to get used to it. 

“We have a student council meeting, so we gotta go. But we’ll see you tomorrow! You better win,” Doyoung called as Taeyong waved enthusiastically. Jaehyun beamed at them, grateful for their love and support, then turned around and headed to the stairwell. 

Taking the steps two at a time, Jaehyun ran up to the third floor and quickly found Mark’s locker. He knew its location better than his own locker, which he never used. Rounding the corner, he stopped yet again when he couldn’t spot Mark’s stupid round head between the few students still on the third floor. Dejected, he whirled around, resolving to just wait for Mark at the front, and nearly bumped into Dejun.

“Oh, sorry, Jaehyun.”

“No worries. Hey, have you seen Mark?” Jaehyun asked. Dejun was also in Mark’s year, and he was one of Mark’s closest friends next to Yukhei. Hopefully, he would know of Mark’s whereabouts.

Dejun’s eyes lit up, a cute smile taking over his face. “I have! He mentioned something about going to Music Room B to practice with Dream.”

He looked really pleased with himself, smirking like the cat who had gotten the cream. Jaehyun wanted to hug him for being useful, but decided against it. He didn’t really know Dejun well enough, it would be weird.

“Thanks so much, Dejun, I owe you one,” Jaehyun said, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. 

Dejun winked. “Just give me Kun’s number and your debt will be paid.”

“Deal,” Jaehyun laughed, punching Kun’s number into Dejun’s phone. “He could really use some TLC right about now.”

“Oh, trust me, I intend to do exactly that,” Dejun said as they parted ways. “And good luck at the championships tomorrow!”

Jaehyun waved, turning around the corner to where the music classrooms were. Music Room B was a practice room attached to Room 3004. Before Jaehyun even stepped foot in the classroom, he could hear the music, the bass reverberating in the walls. 

He waited until there was a pause in the music before banging on the door of Music Room B. Immediately, the red, soundproof door swung open to reveal a sweaty Jaemin, the bassist of Dream. 

“Oh, Mark, it’s your boy,” Jaemin called over his shoulder before Jaehyun could say a word, stepping aside to let Jaehyun in. Jaehyun’s eyes first landed on Jeno behind the drums, then to Renjun at the keyboard, Donghyuck toying with his mic stand, and finally Mark seated on a stool with his electric guitar balanced on one knee.

His expression immediately brightened when he caught sight of Jaehyun standing in the doorway. Jaehyun’s heart stuttered a little—he’ll never get used to Mark looking at him like that.

“Jae!” Mark fumbled for the strap of the guitar, lifting it off his body and setting it on a stand. He stood up from the stool, wincing a little as his back popped, then immediately launched himself into Jaehyun’s arms, who nearly stumbled back into Jaemin still standing behind him.

Mark wasn’t the affectionate type, and definitely not in front of his friends, so Jaehyun was slightly taken aback. The moment didn’t last long, and Mark pulled away shortly after, though he slung an arm around Jaehyun’s shoulders at the last second.

“Jaehyun, these are my bandmates. Guys, this is Jaehyun, my boyfriend.”

Immediately, Jaehyun felt the judgmental stares of four teenagers, analyzing him critically. Finally, Donghyuck was the first to speak.

“You’re so _hot._ What the hell do you see in Mark?”

“ _Hey_ ,” Mark protested with a scowl. He stood defensively in front of Jaehyun with his arms crossed. Jaehyun just laughed and wrapped an arm around Mark’s waist, pulling him into his side.

“I’m lucky he sees something in _me_ ,” Jaehyun said. Donghyuck studied him carefully for a moment, then smiled serenely.

“Good answer. I suppose we won’t have to jump you. For now. But you better treat him well or you’ll regret the day you were born.”

The thing is, Jaehyun had at least a couple inches on every single person in this room. He was a regional boxing champion, and a star basketball player. Yet somehow, the threatening glares from Mark’s bandmates sent shivers down his spine.

“Lay off of him, Hyuck,” Mark said, rolling his eyes. He leaned his head against Jaehyun’s shoulder for a moment before pulling away. “Anyway, what’s up Jae? You were looking for me?”

“Yes.” Jaehyun didn’t mention the twenty minutes he had spent running around the school like a headless chicken. He was always looking for Mark at the end of the day, because Mark never remembered to text him where he was going to be. “You didn’t answer my texts.”

“Oh.” Mark’s hand immediately went to fish his phone out of his pocket. He blanched when he saw the missed calls and texts from Jaehyun. “Sorry, I mute my phone during practice so we don’t get disturbed.”

“Yeah, because that’s clearly worked out so well,” Renjun muttered from behind his keyboard, adjusting his sheet music with a bitter smile. Jaehyun winced, feeling slightly apologetic for interrupting them, but not enough to say anything.

“Did you need something?” Mark asked, ignoring Renjun completely in favour of turning to Jaehyun. He looked so cute, staring up through his dark bangs, large eyes framed with soft smudges of eyeliner. Without thinking, Jaehyun lifted his hand to cup Mark’s face, thumb pressing gently against the piercing in Mark’s lip. 

“We were supposed to go on a date today, remember?” Jaehyun said gently. “We talked about grabbing boba after school.”

Guilt immediately washed over Mark’s face, and his hands flew up to grab Jaehyun’s wrist. He looked dejected, lips pursed into a pout and eyes watering. “Shit, Jae, I’m sorry, I totally forgot. It’s just—we’re playing halftime tomorrow in front of the _whole_ school so we have to rehearse—“

“Hey, hey, calm down,” Jaehyun said soothingly, pulling Mark into his arms. Mark trembled with nerves, and Jaehyun hushed him quietly, running his hands down his boyfriend’s back in an attempt to calm him. He could hear Mark’s friends moving around and talking quietly amongst themselves, but he ignored them in favour of cupping Mark’s face again. “I’m not mad. I understand.”

“You’re not?” Mark sounded surprised, and a little hopeful. Jaehyun’s heart melted, and he couldn’t help but press a quick kiss to Mark’s lips. 

“Of course I’m not mad. But you know you’ll do fine, right? You guys are amazing, you’ve never slipped up on stage before. I sincerely doubt you’ll start now.” Still, Mark didn’t look convinced, so Jaehyun kissed him again. “Tell you what, you keep rehearsing, and I’ll go grab drinks and snacks for the both of us, okay?”

“Are you sure?” Mark asked, clearly wavering between wanting to go with Jaehyun and wanting to stay behind and practice. Jaehyun twisted his hand in the chain connected to Mark’s belt loops and pulled him in until they were pressed together, kissing him slow and deep. Mark fisted his hands in the back of Jaehyun’s shirt, opening his mouth pliantly with a short whine. They didn’t separate until one of Mark’s friends coughed loudly, then they broke for air. Mark’s cheeks were burning bright red, but he had a dazed look in his eyes that made Jaehyun grin.

“I’m sure. Go practice with your friends, I’ll be right back. You still like watermelon slush with popping boba, right?”

“Mhm,” Mark nodded, still looking out of it. 

“Excuse me.” Jaehyun and Mark turned to see the rest of Dream watching them with vaguely disgusted expressions. Jaehyun laughed as Mark rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Donghyuck threw a guitar pick at him.

“Since you put on that, ahem, _lovely_ display of yours as well as interrupted our practice,” Donghyuck snarked, “the least you could do is buy us drinks, too.”

“ _Donghyuck_ ,” Mark warned, but Jaehyun just laughed again.

“Sure,” Jaehyun replied warmly. “Just tell Mark to text me your orders. I’m going to Sugar Bear, if that makes a difference.”

“It does,” Donghyuck said snobbishly, but he looked pleased as the other three boys whooped at the prospect of free bubble tea. Jaehyun smiled fondly at their excitement, pulling Mark in to steal another kiss before gently shoving him in the direction of his stool.

“Practice,” Jaehyun said firmly, giving him a pat on the ass. Mark shot him a sour look but he just giggled, digging into his pockets for his car keys and heading for the door.

“Jae?” Mark’s voice had him stopping in his tracks once more. “Drive safely.”

_God, Jaehyun loved him so fucking much._

“I will, baby,” is all he said before exiting the music room. His heart felt fit to burst, and he couldn’t help but smile as he went down the stairs to the first floor. 

“Oh, hey Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun turned around to see Johnny and Taeil descending the steps behind him, probably having come from the second floor.”

“Hey, Johnny. Hey Taeil. What are you guys still doing here?” Jaehyun asked, starting down the steps again. 

“We just finished up with our student council meeting for the game tomorrow,” Johnny said, surpassing Jaehyun on the stairs easily with his longer legs. Taeil huffed from behind them before taking the steps two at a time to pass them both.

“We’ve sold over three hundred tickets,” Taeil announced smugly.

“Wait, you guys were selling tickets to the game?”

“Uh, yeah? How else are we supposed to pay for prom? We’re selling snacks and drinks too,” Johnny said, strolling past them to open the door to the first floor.

“Does Mark need a ticket?” Jaehyun’s hand went to his wallet, hoping he had cash on him. If he had known Mark would need a ticket to enter, he would have bought it a long time ago.

“Of course not, he’s playing halftime. Student council, the cheer team, and Mark’s band all get in for free. Oh, and your fan club, Jaehyun,” Taeil explained as they walked through the side doors closest to the parking lot.

Jaehyun blinked. “My fan club? I have a fan club?”

“Uhh, yeah? You haven’t noticed the group of girls who attend every single one of your games? Screaming your name and carrying banners with your face on it?” Johnny asked skeptically. 

“Um…I mostly just pay attention to Mark,” Jaehyun admitted sheepishly, unable to hide his grin when Johnny groaned. 

“You’re, like, obsessed with that kid,” Taeil said as Jaehyun pulled out his keys. “Where are you headed anyway?”

“Grabbing boba for Mark and the kids,” Jaehyun said, waving his hand dismissively. “Why is my ‘fan club’ getting in for free?”

“They’re sponsoring the whole event,” Johnny explained. “They’re paying for the refreshments and they’re handing out banners at the game.”

“Oh, wow. I guess I should be flattered, then?” Jaehyun said, press the ‘unlock’ button on his car keys. 

“Did you get a new car?” Taeil asked curiously when the headlights of Jaehyun’s car flickered. 

“Yeah, I used to have a CLS 4matic coupe, now I have the S 560 4matic,” Jaehyun said. “Also I was sick of the black.”

“Your new car is black?” Johnny pointed out, confused.

“This is _obsidian_ black. It’s different. You guys wanna come? I’ll buy,” Jaehyun offered, pulling open the door to the driver’s seat.

“Sure,” Johnny shrugged, rounding the car to hop in the passenger seat. Taeil shook his head when Jaehyun turned to him.

“I’ll pass. See you guys tomorrow!”

“Bye, Ilie!” 

Jaehyun climbed into the driver’s seat, shutting the door behind him. When he looked at Johnny, the other boy was grinning like a mad man.

“So?” Johnny prompted when Jaehyun didn’t say anything.

Jaehyun blinked. “So, what?”

“So, are you gonna ask Mark to prom or what?” Johnny said, rolling his eyes. Jaehyun sighed and ignored him, starting the car and pulling out of his parking spot. He waved to Taeil again as they passed his car. Johnny sulked beside him, clearly unhappy with the lack of an answer. “I don’t understand why you haven’t asked him.”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind. The championships take priority. Scouts are gonna be there.”

“Jae, come on. Everyone else has already done their promposals. Don’t make him wait. Hyuck says Mark’s been anxious about it,” Johnny said. Right, Jaehyun had forgotten that Donghyuck and Johnny were together. 

“He hasn’t said anything to me,” Jaehyun said with a frown.

“Of course he hasn’t said anything to you,” Johnny said, sounding exasperated. “He knows you’re stressed about the game tomorrow, so he won’t say a word even though Donghyuck has been trying to convince him.”

“Oh,” Jaehyun said, biting his lip. “What should I do, then?” He pulled into Sugar Bear’s parking lot and killed the engine. The silence made him fidget uncomfortably, wishing Johnny had never brought up the topic of prom. 

“Do you want to take Mark to prom?” Johnny asked seriously.

“Of course I do,” Jaehyun muttered.

“Then you better ask him before someone else does,” Johnny said, opening the door and climbing out. Jaehyun sighed and quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, getting out on the other side and slamming his own door shut aggressively. He wasn’t mad at Johnny, he was just frustrated with himself. Truthfully, he had been wanting to ask Mark to prom for a while, he just didn’t know how. It seemed like every single promposal had been done twice already this semester. Mark deserved better than an overdone concept.

Mark deserved something special.

Jaehyun wasn’t really sure how to go about it. It had to be public, but not too public because too many people made Mark anxious. Mark didn’t like flowers, and he wasn’t a big fan of chocolates either. 

_I’ll figure it out_ , Jaehyun told himself, approaching the front of the boba shop where Johnny was waiting for him. They entered together, and luckily it wasn’t too busy, because Jaehyun’s phone lit up with drink orders from Mark’s bandmates.

He placed the order as Johnny went to go find them a table, knowing it would take long for all seven drinks to be made. Jaehyun squinted at the menu and wondered if he could come up with a punny bubble tea-related promposal. 

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Oh, sorry!” Jaehyun broke out of his thoughts, ears turning red when he realized he had zoned out. 

“It’s okay. Your total is $47.46,” the cashier said. Jaehyun didn’t hesitate to swipe his card after punching in an extra few dollars for a tip. He thanked the cashier who offered to bring the drinks to his table, then went over to where Johnny was sitting.

“How did you ask Donghyuck to prom?” He blurted out.

Johnny laughed. “I didn’t. Donghyuck asked _me._ He brought a Hello Kitty boombox to my house, threw rocks at my window and sang along to _Check Yes, Juliet_ at the top of his lungs.”

“Good thing our houses are far apart and I didn’t have to hear that,” was all Jaehyun said in response. 

_Would Mark like that? Is that considered romantic? I don’t even have a Hello Kitty boombox. Where can I get one?_ Jaehyun eventually came to the conclusion that the houses in Mark’s neighborhood were too close together for him to pull a stunt like that. 

“Promposals are hard,” Jaehyun said, pouting. He sank into the vinyl of the seat miserably, scrolling through Pinterest for ideas. All of them seemed too cheesy or overdone. Some of them didn’t make any sense at all. Others were too low-effort, and Jaehyun didn’t want to look like he wasn’t trying.

“Yes they are,” Johnny agreed, though he sounded more amused than sympathetic. They sat in silence until their drinks came, then spent the next three minutes arguing over who would get the pink straw. 

“Johnny, I can’t think of anything!” Jaehyun whined frustratedly. 

“Ask Doyoung or Taeyong. They plan shit all the time, maybe they can help you.”

“Oh, you’re right!” Jaehyun said, sitting up so quickly his head spun. “I didn’t think of that.”

Johnny snorted. “Obviously. You should wait until after the game to ask them, though. I’ve heard they’ve got their hands full with this buy-in.”

“I still can’t believe they’re selling tickets,” Jaehyun said, gathering up the drinks to return to his car.

“I can. The whole school wants to go, but there’s only 500 seats in the stands. Plus, with the money we gain from this, we can offset the cost of prom,” Johnny explained.

“Oh. I guess it makes sense when you put it that way,” Jaehyun said. “How much are you expecting to earn with this?”

“Hmm. Since your fan club is sponsoring the event, we don’t have to pay for printing posters and tickets, or banners, or snacks and drinks. If we sell all 500 tickets, and we charge a dollar for drinks and snacks…” Johnny pulled out his phone and opened the calculator. “Let’s just assume half our audience will buy a drink or snack? That’s about $2,750.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of money.”

Johnny laughed. “That’s how much you blow every weekend.”

Jaehyun stuck out his tongue. “You’re worse than me, Johnny Seo, you have no right to talk.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Johnny said with a laugh, tugging one of the bags out of Jaehyun’s hands. “Come on, let’s deliver these drinks for your boyfriend’s band.”

“You mean for _your_ boyfriend’s band,” Jaehyun grumbled, but he followed along anyway.

Mark ended up sleeping over at Jaehyun’s that night.

His parents weren’t home, somewhere on a cruise that Jaehyun hadn’t cared to go on. He would rather miss out on a cruise than go two weeks without seeing Mark. 

They watched some cartoons and had burrito bowls for dinner, but Mark was oddly quiet. He was wearing his glasses, which absolutely delighted Jaehyun to no end, and they kept slipping down his nose. He was so lost in thought that he would forget to push them up. Jaehyun didn’t want to pressure him to open up, so he kept quiet about it.

Eventually, they got ready for bed, with Mark silently brushing his teeth while Jaehyun applied toner to his face. They crawled into Jaehyun’s bed but instead of snuggling up to Jaehyun’s side like he usually did, Mark curled away from him.

Jaehyun stared at Mark’s back in the dark and wondered if Mark was angry at him for not prom-posing yet. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to, but he had to worry about the championships first. He didn’t want to half-ass asking Mark to prom and besides, scouts were going to be at the game tomorrow. His future depended on this. He had to concentrate.

But…Mark had never slept with his back to him before.

“Mark?” Jaehyun whispered, lightly tapping on Mark’s shoulder. He didn’t get a response. “Are you angry at me?”

“What?” Mark rolled over and finally looked at Jaehyun. “No, of course not.”

“Oh, um. It’s just. You never usually sleep…like that,” Jaehyun finished lamely. Mark made a face like he understood and squirmed closer. Jaehyun happily pulled him in, relieved that Mark wasn’t angry with him. He tucked his face into Mark’s neck and sighed when Mark kissed his head. He didn’t always like to be babied, but he was feeling emotionally vulnerable tonight. 

“Sorry sorry, I’m not mad, I’m just nervous about tomorrow,” Mark said. His voice was pitched low and sent uncontrollable shivers down Jaehyun’s spine, but he was more concerned about the way his boyfriend trembled with anxiety. He pressed closer, tightening his arms around Mark’s tiny waist and nosing at his collarbone. _I’m here, I’m here_ , he wanted to say.

“What are you so nervous for, babe?” Jaehyun asked, his lips brushing against Mark’s clavicle. Mark shivered, and Jaehyun was glad he wasn’t the only one affected by their close proximity. “You’ve performed in front of the school before.”

“Yeah,” Mark said quietly, “but I’ve never performed in front of the whole school as your boyfriend.”

_Oh._

“Is that what this is about?” Jaehyun pulled back to look Mark in the eyes. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. You could sing the fuckin’... Canadian national anthem and I’d still be so proud to have you as my boyfriend.”

“Jae _hyun_ ,” Mark complained, hiding his face. His hands were so tiny. Jaehyun grabbed them in his own hands, fascinated with their size difference. 

“What?”

“You’re embarrassing me,” Mark said weakly. 

Jaehyun giggled, swinging his leg over Mark’s hip and sitting up so he was straddling him. He grinned down at his boyfriend. “I’m embarrassing you?”

“ _Jae,_ ” Mark whined, but Jaehyun grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the bed before he could hide his face again. Mark curled his hands into little fists in an attempt to look threatening. Jaehyun laughed and leaned down to kiss him. He shifted his weight onto his knees bracketing Mark’s waist, not wanting to crush his poor boyfriend. He could feel Mark smiling into the kiss, and he immediately let go of Mark’s hands to tangle his fingers in Mark’s hair. 

Mark slid his hands up Jaehyun’s shirt and Jaehyun shivered, pressing closer. He bit down on Mark’s lower lip and licked into his mouth when he gasped, forcibly tracing his teeth with his tongue. He felt Mark’s nails dig into the meat of his hips and nearly collapsed, letting go of Mark’s hair to hold himself up. He wished Mark had his lip piercing in because he loved to play with it when they kissed, but Mark always took it out before bed. 

Finally, Mark yawned right in Jaehyun’s face, so he rolled off and pulled Mark into his side. Mark buried his face in Jaehyun’s chest, so Jaehyun pulled the blanket over them both.

“Aren’t you nervous?” Mark asked only a few moments later, his voice muffled by the fabric of Jaehyun’s shirt.

“Of course I’m nervous.” Jaehyun had no problem admitting it. “But I’m confident in my abilities and the strength of my team. We made it this far, who says we’ll stop here?”

“You know, sometimes you’re pretty cool,” Mark said sleepily.

Jaehyun scowled. “Only sometimes?”

He’s met with the sound of Mark’s soft snores.

“Senior boys’ basketball team, please make your way to Gymnasium A. Senior boys’ basketball team to Gymnasium A, thank you.”

“Good luck, man,” Seokmin said with a toothy grin, leaning over to give Jaehyun a fist bump as he stood from his seat. His teacher wished him well and he exited the classroom, beelining for the stairwell and taking them two at a time until he reached the bottom floor.

He ran into Mingyu, who was already in his uniform. Jaehyun was wearing his own uniform under his clothes, which he quickly stripped off as soon as he entered the gym, folding them carefully and shoving them into his bag.

“Jae!”

He turned around to see Mark descending from the stage, his guitar on his back. He was already dressed in his stage clothes; shredded jeans and a tight muscle tee. Jaehyun jogged over to him, running his hands down Mark’s sides appreciatively and smiling when Mark shivered. 

“Hi, what are you doing here so early?” Jaehyun pressed a quick kiss to Mark’s lips, lightly tugging on Mark’s lip ring with his teeth before pulling away. God, Mark looked so good with his red winged eyeliner, smokey eyeshadow, and piercings in his lip and above his eyebrow. Jaehyun wanted to eat him.

“Soundcheck,” Mark said with a grin, leaning up to steal another kiss.

Jaehyun pouted childishly. “You mean I could have heard my sexy boyfriend perform _twice_ if I came down earlier?”

Mark’s cheeks pinked, the way they always did when Jaehyun complimented him, but he rolled his eyes and shoved at Jaehyun’s chest. “Relax. It’s a fifteen minute gig, not a concert.”

“Mm, and when you’re playing Madison Square Garden, I’m gonna be right there cheering you on,” Jaehyun said, pulling Mark closer by the waist. He completely forgot about warming up, focused solely on making Mark even more flustered. 

“What do you think this is, _Lemonade Mouth?_ ” But he was smiling as he said this. Jaehyun smiled, reeling Mark in for another kiss, his fingers sliding up into Mark’s hair. He was happy that Mark didn’t put any gel, loving the way the soft strands felt under his touch. “Jae, come on, you gotta get warmed up.”

“Don’t wanna,” Jaehyun complained, and Mark sighed, stepping out of Jaehyun’s hold. “Okay, okay, fine. I’m going.”

Mark rolled his eyes again. “Don’t act like it’s a chore for you. Now go.”

He reached out to pat Jaehyun’s (admittedly non-existent) ass through his basketball shorts, and Jaehyun sighed, walking over to where the rest of his teammates were and starting the first warm-up drill as they teased him about being whipped for Mark. So what if he was? 

“Whoa, check out Mark,” Jungkook said, appearing next to Jaehyun while waiting for his turn to shoot. 

Jaehyun blinked, turning to the stage. At first he just saw Renjun trying to hit Jaemin over the head with a mic stand, but when he looked at the far left he saw Mark in a backbend with his guitar in his hands, his hair falling off his forehead as he looked at Jeno and Donghyuck upside down. He hadn’t known Mark was _that_ flexible.

“Wipe your drool, loverboy,” Yugyeom said, snapping Jaehyun out of his daze. “You can make out with him after we win championships.”

“Think we’re gonna win?” Jungkook came over and slung his arm around Yugyeom’s shoulder. 

Yugyeom scoffed. “Of course we’re gonna win.” 

Twenty minutes later, the opponents walked in through the gym doors, and Jaehyun's team was no longer confident that they would win. The other team was huge, the tallest member easily exceeding 6'5". Meanwhile their tallest players, Chanyeol and Kris were just barely over six feet. 

"It's okay guys, height isn't everything," Jungkook whispered.

"Aren't you the shortest on the team?" Chanyeol asked as they huddled into their circle. Jungkook barely managed to spit out the first words of an ancient Latin curse that was maybe from Supernatural (Jaehyun didn't know he was bisexual not gay) before the coach smacked him on the back of the head.

"Guys, get serious, please. This is the most important game of your life. I recognized some scouts from around here. This is your last shot to get noticed. Now get your shit together, get out there, and play ball. This is what you practiced for."

This is what you practiced for. Jaehyun's teammates looked to him expectantly, and he swallowed harshly, his throat dry. He was nervous, but he couldn't show his teammates that. They were expecting him to lead them. Honestly, they were the underdogs of the district. They had started out with twelve players, and were down to only eight. Himself, Mingyu, Yugyeom, Jungkook, Chanyeol, Kris, Sanghyuk and Minho. Which meant they only had three subs for an hour long game. They used NBA regulations, meaning the full game was divided into four twelve minute quarters, with a fifteen minute break in between. 

_Right. Halftime. That's why Mark is on stage, and not in the stands, but it doesn't mean he's not cheering me on. Focus. Concentrate._

"We've always been good at beating the odds," Jaehyun said finally. "Remember that. We won every single game up until now even though we were expected to be last. They may be taller than us, but they're not smarter than us, and they're definitely not faster than us. Stay on your man, stay calm, stay focused. We can win this -- no, we will win this. Every single practice, every workout session, every training camp, they've all accumulated into this. We're going to be champions today."

He looked around their tiny huddle, making eye contact with every member. He was delighted to find their eyes steely with resolve, their lips pressed together in determination. He was so proud of his team, and even if they didn't win today, he would always be proud of them. In between games, practices, training sessions, late night group study to catch up on missed work, all star tournaments — throughout all of that, they had become a family. 

"No regrets," Jaehyun said firmly, putting his hand in the middle of the circle.

"No regrets," his teammates echoed, placing their hands atop his and shouting their cheer. When they broke apart, they realized that the stands were full of people also cheering their names. There were posters and banners in the hands of the spectators and lining the railings.

"Oh my god," Jungkook gasped, and Jaehyun couldn't help but copy him. How had they not noticed this many people showing up to watch their game? There were even people sitting on the floor in front of the stage, lining the walls next to the doors in order to watch. Jaehyun could see several people holding snacks and drinks from the student council table outside, and he couldn’t help but feel a little giddy. “They’re all here to watch us play.”

“Jaehyun!” He turned around to see Mark running up to him, glancing back at the stage to see that Mark’s band had left their instruments, finally prepared for their halftime show, then looked back at Mark and almost choked when he realized Mark was wearing his varsity jacket, the one with his last name and number printed boldly on the back. 

“Babe, what--” Jaehyun managed to get out before Mark was hugging him. He spat out a mouthful of Mark’s hair with a grimace, but Mark didn’t seem to even notice.

“Good luck! Be careful out there okay? Those guys are _huge_ ,” Mark said after pulling back, his eyes wide. “Oh! And I got you this.”

He reached into the pocket of his (Jaehyun’s) jacket and pulled out a black Nike headband and a small hair elastic. “Your hair is getting kinda long, I thought this would help keep it out of your eyes.”

“ _Awwww,_ ” Yugyeom and Jungkook yelled in unison, and Mark startled, turning red when he realized the whole basketball team had heard him. But to Jaehyun’s surprise, Mark stood on his tiptoes and began tying Jaehyun’s hair in a little ponytail. He patted Jaehyun’s head like a dog before handing him the headband. Jaehyun beamed at him, so overwhelmed by his love for this stupid boy. Uncaring of the hundreds of spectators, he reeled Mark in for a kiss as soon as the headband was settled at his hairline. 

“Jae,” Mark mumbled against his lips in protest, but Jaehyun just tightened his grip on Mark’s waist. 

“Thank you,” Jaehyun said breathlessly, just as one of the referees called for the captains of each team. “I’m gonna win.”

“Fuck yeah, you will,” Mark replied. Jaehyun saluted him and ran over to the referee, adrenaline rushing through his veins. He bounced on the balls of his feet as the referee spoke, not caring that the captain of the other team was staring at him judgmentally. Up close, number 4 on the other team had at least five inches on him, but Jaehyun was too excited to be scared. 

“Let’s have a good game,” Jaehyun said when the ref was finished speaking, reaching out to shake his opponent’s hand. The captain of the other team just shook it silently, not even offering a fraction of a smile before he turned on his heel and went to join his teammates. 

“Oof,” Jaehyun said to himself, giving an awkward smile to the referee before returning to his own teammates for their last minute warm-up. He led the drills with ease, and before he knew it, the buzzer was sounding off and the ref was blowing his whistle, signalling the start of the game.

“Game on,” Jaehyun said to his team. “Let’s win this shit.”

They were tied. 

How the fuck were they tied? 

Jaehyun knew the answer, but he didn’t want to admit to himself that his opponents were more than just good. They were probably _better._ His teammates were already breathing hard, and there were three minutes left in the second quarter. The score was tied 51-51. Jaehyun stared at the scoreboard in shock, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. 

The scores were too high for the second quarter of the game. They were high school kids, not NBA players. The pace was moving too fast, and they were already tired. Even Jungkook, who trained in endurance and had run marathons before, was out of breath and drenched in sweat. It wasn’t like they were easily scoring either, so how had the points gone up so high?

The answer was simple. In order to get around the fact that the other team were taller, their team moved faster. And the other team moved faster in order to keep up, so they went even _faster,_ and now they were exhausted and pissed off, and the other team was hardly breaking a sweat. It was taking everything they had just to tie, what were they going to do in the second half?

“Is this ref stupid?” Yugyeom hissed as they entered timeout, luckily called by the other team. “That guy totally just bodied Jae, and we didn’t even get a fucking foul shot.”

Jaehyun grimaced, rubbing at the floor burn on his arm. The guy had pretended to trip and slammed into Jaehyun, sending him flying to the floor. He didn’t even have the ball, but now the skin on his arm was raw and the image of Number 11 with his faux apologetic smile was imprinted in his mind. 

“Calm down,” Jaehyun said anyway, more out of leadership duties than his own feelings. “This is their way of getting to you. Don’t play angry, it never works. You know this.”

At the start of their season, Jungkook had been tripped during a game and sprained his ankle, and Yugyeom had needed to be benched because he was furious and costing them the game. Remembering this now, Yugyeom sighed heatedly, but he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. 

“We’re doing what we can. We’re playing at our best right now, so all we can do is keep going. Remember, look for holes in their defence, and don’t back down just because they’re taller than you. Trust Kris to get the rebounds and just drive in. We’re weaker than them in the paint, so try to stick to the outside.”

Jaehyun gave a quick glance to the coach, still seated in his chair, and received a nod in return. He smiled to himself, secretly pleased. Their coach had been abstaining from joining their huddles during timeout lately, trusting Jaehyun to say what needed to be said. It was important to Jaehyun to be a good captain, first and foremost. He wanted to be trustworthy. He wanted his teammates to be able to rely on him.

He took a deep breath and continued. “We made it this far, we just have to keep going. Nobody expected us to get to the championships, and nobody’s expecting us to win. So we’re going to, because I’m petty as _fuck_ and my body is filled with sheer spite.”

This made his teammates laugh, and a wave of relief washed over him. They weren’t angry anymore, which meant their emotions would no longer cloud their judgement. They were going to keep fighting. 

The buzzer sounded off once more, and they did a quick cheer before breaking off and returning to the court. The ref blew the whistle and handed the ball to Jungkook, who threw the ball in bound to Jaehyun.

“Let’s slow it down,” Jaehyun said to his team as they ran to the other side of the court. He took his time in bringing up the ball, eyes narrowed as he examined the opponents’ defence. He saw Mingyu shift his foot, and passed the ball just as Yugyeom performed a screen, blocking the player from stealing the ball. Mingyu grabbed the ball and immediately passed it to Kris, who jumped up and easily dropped the ball in the net. 

Their triumph was short lived, though, when they were unable to stop the opposing team from scoring a three-pointer, bringing the score up to 54-53. Jaehyun wiped at the sweat on his forehead, frustrated. He did his best to lead the next play, but they ended up losing the ball when Mingyu missed his shot and the other team’s center grabbed the rebound. Before they could score, though, the buzzer went off, signaling the end of the second quarter. Dejected, the team trudged over to their bench and immediately began chugging their water. 

It was silent save for the sound of heavy breathing and crackling water bottles. Jaehyun sighed, struggling to find the words to say. They had been so motivated only a few minutes ago, but they had been completely unable to stop the opponents who tore right through their defense. They had almost taunted them, as if the past two quarters were them messing around, and they were finally getting serious. Jaehyun wondered if that was their plan, to make them think they had a chance before crushing them completely in the second half.

He had completely forgotten about the halftime show until the stage lights dimmed, and then the opening notes of Fall Out Boy’s _Dance Dance_ rang out through the gymnasium. Jaehyun immediately turned around, his eyes skimming over Donghyuck at the front, guitar at his hips as he sang the first verse. He saw Jaemin spinning around with his bass guitar, Renjun behind his keyboard with his lips to the mic providing back-up vocals, and then-- 

Mark standing on one of the speakers, Jaehyun’s jacket tied around his waist, head thrown back as he played, looking _divine_ under the stage lights. Despite having just chugged half a litre of water, his mouth felt dry as he stared. 

He loved Mark always. Every single part of his personality, every side to this multi-faceted diamond of a boy. He loved Mark truly and deeply. But he felt a different love for this Mark, on stage, doing what he’s always dreamed of doing, and that was performing for an audience. Sure, he had done it before, but never for five hundred people, and never with a set-up this crazy. The school had gone all out for their performance with a laser display and LED screens set up behind them, courtesy of the student council.

“Jae come on,” Jungkook said, nudging him in the side to get his attention. “We gotta stay warmed up.” He accepted the ball passed to him and began practicing his threes. It wasn’t often that he performed them, but he had a feeling that he would need to in this game. Anything to help them get a lead. 

The problem with his threes was that his release was relatively slow, and he could only perform them if he was open or if there was a screen. His only hope was that his opponents hadn’t studied him enough to learn that. Jungkook was their shooting guard, but the other team had one of their tallest on him, preventing him from shooting his own three-pointers. 

Mark’s band moved on from _Dance Dance_ to Paramore’s _Ignorance,_ and Jaehyun had to admit the song suited Donghyuck’s voice. They had clearly shortened it, but Jaehyun imagined the backlash they would get from the principal for performing this song, and laughed as he shot his next three. His teammates were clearly enjoying the music, Jungkook and Yugyeom jumping around and headbanging. He chanced a glance at the other team and caught them rolling their eyes at his teammates’ antics. 

Once the song was finished, Dream took the time to introduce themselves, and Jaehyun paused with his ball in his hands as Mark stepped up to the mic, waving with both hands, a huge grin plastered on his face. He dropped the ball in shock when they switched instruments, with Jeno on bass, Renjun as main vocalist, Donghyuck as drummer and Jaemin as lead guitarist. Jaehyun frowned when he realized Mark had left the stage, but he was distracted by Chanyeol handing him his ball. 

“This next song is called _Lying Is The Most Fun,_ ” Renjun said into the mic. “Enjoy.”

“No _way_ ,” Jungkook gasped, but sure enough they began playing the iconic Panic! At The Disco song, with Renjun singing _“is it still me who makes you sweat? Am I who you think about in bed?”_

Jaehyun giggled, turning to the audience and catching a few scandalized parents. He felt his anger and frustration dissipate as he listened, focusing on leading his team through another drill as the song continued. There were six minutes left to halftime when the song ended, and Jaehyun wasn’t expecting for the next song to be Paramore’s _Rose-Colored Boy_ , but Donghyuck began the opening lines with a cheery expression.

Jaehyun was about to begin the next exercise when the music suddenly faded out. Confused, he turned back to the stage to see Mark with a bouquet of flowers in one hand, a microphone in the other, and an enormous grin on his face.

“Jaehyun Jung!” Mark shouted into the mic.

“Oh my god.” 

“I know I’m a junior but you still haven’t asked me, so I’m taking matters into my own hands! Will you do me the honour of being my prom date, my rose coloured boy?”

“Dude, your ears are _so_ red,” Jungkook said.

“That’s because I’m embarrassed,” Jaehyun muttered, before yelling, “yes, I’ll go to prom with you, you stupid boy!”

Mark launched himself down the steps of the stage, tearing across the gym to throw himself in Jaehyun’s open arms, laughing his head off like the sick little monster he was.

“You mean it? You really mean it?” Mark said, shoving the flowers into Jungkook’s hands so he could hug Jaehyun properly. 

“Of course, who else would I go with?” Jaehyun retorted.

Mark pulled a face. “Jaemin said he was going to ask you if I didn’t. And he said that he would do it in public so you wouldn’t be able to turn him down ‘cause you’re too nice.”

Jaehyun scowled, not wanting to be perceived. “I would have turned him down!”

Mark squinted at him. “No you wouldn’t.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Jaehyun admitted with a sigh. “Good thing you asked me first, right?”

“You were taking too long, bro,” Mark said, rolling his eyes. “I get impatient.” 

“You’re annoying,” Jaehyun replied, but he leaned in indulgently when Mark tilted his head up for a kiss.

“Okay, you have a game to win and my parents are watching, so don’t disappoint me. Bye!”

“Your parents are _what?!_ ” But Mark was already jogging across the gym, disappearing through the doors that lead up to the stands. 

“Game time, loverboy,” Mingyu said, smacking Jaehyun’s ass. Jaehyun lifted his hand to punch him, and Mingyu flinched, running away just as the buzzer went off to signal the end of halftime. Jaehyun decided not to make a comment about Mingyu’s boyfriend Wonwoo sitting front and center above their bench with a cheering banner in his hands. He clapped Chanyeol and Yugyeom on the shoulder before jogging back onto the court, adjusting his wristband. 

Call it cliche, but he felt re-energized, and more determined to win than ever. His exhaustion had disappeared as soon as he had seen Mark holding the flowers, now sitting on the chair next to the coach. 

“We’re gonna win this,” he declared, more confident than ever before. “We have to.”

For a second, his eyes scan the stands, and he finds Mark leaning over the railing, standing with the rest of his band still in their stage clothes. He’s wearing Jaehyun’s jacket again, and as they lock eyes, he gives Jaehyun a huge grin and a thumbs up.

 _Thank you,_ Jaehyun thought, _for giving me strength._

The whistle blew. 

_Game on._

Jaehyun’s theory about this being a cat-and-mouse game was unfortunately correct. The opponents seemed to completely transform after half-time, and Jaehyun was beginning to suspect that they had never played their starting line-up. Indeed, it was all different players on the court from the first half and despite them giving it their all, Jaehyun’s team was down by ten points by the time the fourth quarter was starting. Jaehyun stared at the scoreboard, the neon red 73-63 taunting him. At the beginning of the second half, they had all felt rejuvenated, but now exhaustion was catching up to them. Especially Jaehyun, who was leading every single play and wasn’t able to be subbed out. 

“It’s like we’re playing a completely different team,” Mingyu panted. 

“I know,” Jaehyun said roughly, wiping at the sweat on his forehead. “We’ll just have to keep going.”

“Pass the ball up to me,” Jungkook said as he jogged past. “I’ll make the shot.” 

Jaehyun nodded, following as they went to defend. The point guard from the other team approached with the ball, and Jaehyun intercepted the pass, taking the ball and immediately bouncing it into Jungkook’s hands, who barely stopped in his tracks before he was bringing the ball up and sending it flying into the net, just outside the three-point line.

73-66. 

Unfortunately, they couldn’t stop the other team from making a shot, bringing the score up to 75-66. Jaehyun groaned in frustration as Jungkook went to throw the ball inbounds. 

“Hey, three steps forward, two steps back is still one step forward, right?” Jungkook said hopefully. Jaehyun smiled at him, nodding as he received the ball. He decided to take it up slowly, eyes calculating as he picked apart the opponents’ defense. He passed the ball to Kris, and then ran to an open spot in the corner and caught the ball again, releasing the ball for a shot just as a hand shoved at his arm, sending him crashing to the ground with a grunt.

The referee blew the whistle just as the ball circled the rim and dropped in.

“And one!” Mingyu screamed over the roar of the crowd. Jaehyun staggered to his feet, too sore to celebrate. His body felt like one giant bruise as he made eye contact with the player who had pushed him. There was no remorse in his eyes even as they lined up for the foul shot.

“One shot,” the ref said, passing him the ball. Jaehyun wiped at his shoes with his hands, dribbling the ball until the whistle blew. He spun the ball until it felt right in his hands, the grooves along his fingers a perfect fit. He closed his eyes for a split second, took a deep breath, and made the shot.

75-70. 

“Jaehyun!” He was immediately tackled by Mingyu and Jungkook, letting out an _oof_ as they connected with his ribs. 

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Mingyu said, smacking Jaehyun’s arm repeatedly.

“Nice shot, bro,” Kris said, clapping Jaehyun’s shoulder as he jogged past. Jaehyun squirmed out of Jungkook’s arms, pushing him lightly to get him to run back for defence. An idea struck like a lightbulb in his head.

“Switch to zone defence,” Jaehyun called, and was met with confused looks in return.

“Captain, are you sure?” Kris asked, and when Jaehyun nodded, they repositioned themselves to do as they were told.

Against a team like this, it was common for shorter players to use man to man defence in order to restrict their movement on the court, but Jaehyun had noticed something about the opposing point guard, and he just had to use it properly.

“Listen,” Jaehyun murmured to Jungkook, “when I go up to stop the point guard, I’m going to block his left side. He never passes inside the paint on his first pass, so it’s going to go to their shooting guard. Don’t guard him completely, and intercept the pass. If you can take it all the way, go for it. If not, pass it back to me. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Got it,” Jungkook said determinedly, and they took their positions just as the play began. Jaehyun immediately moved up to intercept the point guard, and as he expected, the point guard faked a pass to the center and threw the ball to the opposing shooting guard. Jungkook was there in a flash, snatching the ball before it could be caught by the opponent. He tore down the court, and though the other team was right on his heels, managed to perform a hook shot and gain them another two points. 

75-72.

One minute, thirty seconds on the clock. 

They had to stop this next shot, and score twice, or they could kiss the championship goodbye. Jaehyun winced, a hand coming up to press against his tender side as they prepared for defence. Suddenly, the ref blew the whistle, long and loud.

“Timeout, black,” the ref barked in a gruff voice, and Jaehyun turned to his coach, almost choking in relief when he saw the coach’s hands in the shape of a T. He was clearly trying to preserve the momentum held by their team, and as they jogged across the court towards their bench, Jaehyun was nothing but grateful.

He immediately chugged the rest of his water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and tossing the bottle on the ground, uncaring if it cracked. He’d buy a new one if they won. The coach was speaking, but he couldn’t hear anything past the ringing in his ears. 

Jaehyun knew that the point guard wouldn’t make the same mistake twice now that he discovered one of his tells. He had no idea what was coming next, and therefore he had no idea how to prevent it.

“Captain,” Jungkook said quietly, sidling up next to him. “I think I know what they’re gonna do.”

“You do?” Jaehyun asked. He was almost surprised, but then again Jungkook was one of their more intelligent players, constantly picking apart and analyzing their opponents in record time.

Jungkook nodded, looking shy. “It’s just a hunch, but I think they’re going to try to shoot a three in order to guarantee that we won’t catch up.”

Jaehyun grimaced at the fact, but couldn’t deny there was truth to it. Even if they managed to score two threes in a row before the game ended, there was no way they’d be able to push it into overtime. They were low on energy and low on extra players, while the other team had several substitutes sitting on their bench, ready to play. 

“Okay, so who do you think the ball is going to?”

“Definitely not the shooting guard. I heard the point guard reprimanding him for getting the ball stolen,” Jungkook said. “I’m glad you’re not like that.”

Jaehyun laughed, endeared. “I would never.”

“I was watching them warm up. From what I can tell, the ones with the most range and highest success rates besides the shooting guard are the center and the small forward. I think the ball will go to either of them,” Jungkook explained.

“I have an idea,” Jaehyun said. “Abandon your man and tighten the defence on the point guard. Make sure Kris knows he has two guys to look out for, but I highly doubt that ball is going to the shooting guard. The inability to look past mistakes is going to be this point guard’s downfall.”

“Yes sir,” Jungkook said, looking pleased. He ran over to Kris, getting his attention and whispering the plan just as the timeout ended. They walked out onto the court after their cheer to the roar of the crowd stamping their feet. Jaehyun grit his teeth, wiping at his forehead again as he took his position at the front of their defence. This was their last chance. They had to stop this next shot. 

The plan was to pressure the point guard into passing to the center. He knew that if Kris was edged out from the key in order to guard the shooting guard as well, that the point guard wouldn’t have any other options. They weren’t going to intercept the pass though. They were going to make sure the ball landed in the center’s hands, and then it was up to Kris to stop the shot. 

Truthfully, if the ball went to the shooting guard, the game would be over. They had been unable to stop him from scoring threes throughout the second half, and he hadn’t missed a single shot. But the opposing point guard didn’t want to pass to him, Jaehyun knew this. He was letting his anger cloud his judgment, something a player should never do, and especially not one that leads the plays. 

He despised the fact that anyone like that could be playing the same position as him. 

“Positions, now,” Jaehyun snapped and they set up their defence just as the opposing point guard approached with the ball. He saw the surprise in his eyes, and Jaehyun pressed closer, signalling for Jungkook to open up the defence. The point guard took the bait just as Kris edged closer to the shooting guard, passing it to the center. Immediately Kris was there, just as the center spun around to shoot, slamming it out of his hands. The ball landed in Chanyeol’s hands, who immediately threw it to Jaehyun. He hurled the ball down the sideline of the court into Jungkook’s awaiting hands. Thirty seconds on the clock.

Jungkook went for the shot just as a player made contact with his arm, and the ball teetered on the edge for one breathtaking moment before dropping into the net just as the whistle blew. 

75 - 74.

“And one!” the crowd screamed, and Jaehyun wanted to join but he was too breathless, running up to Jungkook just as the referee called for a foul shot.

“Jungkook, miss the shot,” Jaehyun whispered.

Jungkook startled. “Jaehyun, what?”

“ _Trust me,_ ” Jaehyun emphasized. “Miss the shot.”

“I trust you,” Jungkook said with a firm nod. “I’ll miss the shot.”

“Line up for the rebound!” Jaehyun called, making eye contact with Kris and Chanyeol, who immediately understood what he was trying to do. He stood on the outside of the key, closer to the middle of the court, next to the other team’s point guard.

“You think he’s gonna miss the shot?” The opposing point guard said with a smirk. Jaehyun took one look at his tomato red face, twisted into an ugly sneer, and vowed that he would not let him near the championship trophy. “You should have more faith in your teammate.”

“No,” Jaehyun replied quietly just as Jungkook made the shot, “I know he’s going to miss the shot.”

He will forever relish in the surprise on the other team’s face as the shot ricocheted off the backboard. Kris leapt up and Chanyeol blocked the other team’s center from getting close. Jaehyun broke free from the players guarding him, running to the three point line. Kris twisted in mid-air and threw the ball to him. Ten seconds on the clock.

He could make that shot. He wasn’t the best at threes, but he had drawn out 100% of his potential and he knew that he could make that shot. But at the corner of his eye, he noticed Jungkook, waiting. Open. 

For a brief second, he considered shooting. The last shot in the championship game would land him an imperceivable amount of attention. He would be noticed by all of the recruiters sitting in the bleachers, and he would be a star. But between him and Jungkook, only one of them had a 98% scoring rate.

He passed the ball.

Jungkook lit up with a grin, and Jaehyun knew that he would be unstoppable. Sure enough, before any of the opposing team could advance on him, the ball flew from his fingers, sailing in a high arc and dropping into the net with a _swish_ just as the buzzer went off.

77 - 75, home. Game over.

The silence was deafening, nothing except for the sound of their heavy breathing for a single, fleeting moment, and then thunderous applause as his teammates ran to hug Jungkook, screaming and crying. Jaehyun stood there for a moment, panting, staring up at the scoreboard in awe. They were the champions. 

“Captain!” 

Jaehyun turned to see his team standing there with open arms and matching grins on their faces. He took one look at the glistening sweat on their bodies and backed away, palms out.

“I’m good, guys,” he tried to stay, but he was immediately trampled by a stampede of teenage boys as they tackled him to the ground. It was then that he finally cried, the stress and anxiety of the season finally catching up to him. His teammates, his _family_ , cried with him as the crowd poured out from the stands, cheering and waving their banners. 

_We Are The Champions_ began playing through the gymnasium speakers, and Jaehyun choked out a wet laugh as they finally got to their feet, lining up as a representative from the Athletic Board appeared with their medals. 

“Congratulations,” the man said, shaking his hand firmly once he had placed the medal around his neck. Jaehyun beamed at him. “You’re a good captain. I think you’ll go far in life, son.”

“Thank you sir,” Jaehyun replied, cheeks aching with the force of his grin. “I had a good team.”

“Awww, Captain,” Mingyu gushed, knocking into Jaehyun’s side. “That means you’re gonna pay for our celebratory dinner tomorrow, right?”

“As if,” Jaehyun scoffed, though he quickly straightened up when the photographers came over to take their pictures. Johnny was there, an enormous camera around his neck for yearbook and student council photos, and he was grinning so proudly at Jaehyun he almost wanted to cry all over again.

He scanned over the crowd, unfamiliar faces smiling at him as he had his photo taken. He craned his neck and spotted Yukhei, Doyoung and Taeyong, and Dejun and Kun, but he couldn’t find the one person he wanted to see the most.

“Where’s Mark?” Jaehyun murmured, leaning back even further to examine the crowd until he received a bony elbow to the ribs. Grumbling, he turned back to pose for the cameras, the flashes blinding his eyes as he held his medal. They took pictures with the trophy too, a heavy chunk of metal that Jaehyun didn’t really care for. 

“Congratulations on your win,” Johnny said, once the cheers had died down and most of the crowd had left. Jaehyun thanked him, pulling him in for a one arm hug. He accepted the water bottle handed to him, drinking half of it in one go. 

“Jaehyunnie!” Doyoung and Taeyong appeared out of nowhere, their hands linked as always. There was a handsome young man in a finely pressed suit trailing behind them. “Congrats on your win! This man wanted to talk to you.”

Johnny snorted, but he gave Jaehyun one last grin before gently leading the student body presidents away, leaving Jaehyun alone in a crowded gym with a complete stranger. Kind friends.

“Congratulations on winning!” The man said, shaking his hand firmly. “I’ll get straight to the point. My name is Jared Bowman, I’m in charge of recruitment for Columbia. I’ve heard a lot about you, Jaehyun. Captain of the basketball team, starting point guard for two years in a row, 3.98 GPA. You’re impressive on paper.”

Jaehyun swallowed harshly. “Thank you, sir.”

“I was intrigued, so I came to see you in action. Actually, it was your coach who contacted me, but I was already planning to come down once I heard your team had made it to the finals. From underdogs to the top of the leaderboard, huh?” Mr Bowman continued, “and what I saw today… you’re even more impressive in person.”

Shocked, Jaehyun stayed silent, his eyes wide as Mr Bowman passed him a business card. 

“I want you on my team, Jaehyun. We’re offering you a full-ride scholarship and a guaranteed starting position on our lineup. So what do you think? Are you ready to become a Lion?”

“Can I have some time to think about it?” Jaehyun asked.

“Of course! Just don’t take too long,” Mr Bowman winked. “Oh and the lead guitarist of the band that played halftime. Your boyfriend?” Jaehyun nodded. “You better thank him. He spent the entirety of the second half singing your praises to his parents and I overheard. It was what made me decide on you over every other player here.”

“I will, thank you,” Jaehyun said, his heart pounding at the reminder that Mark’s parents were here. 

“Have a good night, Jaehyun,” Mr Bowman said with one last smile before turning away. Jaehyun stood there, his feet rooted to the ground. He couldn’t believe that had just happened. It took him a minute to remember how to function as a normal human being before he scooped up his bag and grabbed the bouquet Mark had given to him, now slightly wilted and missing a few petals. It was still beautiful, though, a mixture of red, yellow, and white flowers. His favourite colours.

His teammates were already gone, and now that the adrenaline from the victory had faded, Jaehyun just felt drained and hollow. He wanted _Mark,_ but he couldn’t find his boyfriend anywhere. Walking into the locker room, Jaehyun found it empty, which was strange. Usually his teammates would be shoving each other around as they got changed out of their uniforms, laughing and talking about the game, but it was oddly silent.

He got changed alone, washing his face and rinsing out his hair, scrubbing it with a towel and wiping at the dried sweat at his neck. He felt icky, but he would be fine until he showered. He went through the mechanical motions of spraying on deodorant, tying the laces of his shoes, and pulling a hoodie on over his black tee. He threw his medal into his bag and stared at himself in the mirror. From a championship winning basketball player to a regular boy in regular clothes. The contrast was disorienting.

When Jaehyun walked back into the gymnasium it was empty, save for a janitor sweeping up the discarded drink cans and empty candy wrappers from the game. He wrinkled his nose at the mess, walking with heavy footsteps so as to not spook the woman. Her name was Rosa, and she was usually around when basketball practice ended, so Jaehyun knew her well.

“Do you need any help?” He asked, gesturing to the other broom sitting in the janitor cart.

Rosa looked at him and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Boy, you just won the Inter High basketball championships, and you wanna clean up after nasty teenagers?”

He offered her a grin in return. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m also a nasty teenager.”

She shoved lightly at his shoulder. “I haven’t. So go hang out with all the others. I think Mark is waiting for you outside.”

“You should have opened with that if you wanted to get rid of me!” Jaehyun said, already breaking out into a run. “Thanks Rosa, have a good night!”

“You too sweetie,” he heard before the gym doors slammed behind him. He took off in a sprint, looping the corner and running straight for the front doors. It was already getting dark out, and he missed Mark dearly. He slammed through the doors and skidded to a stop when he realized he was surrounded by people. His tunnel vision focused on just one person though, just one beautiful boy holding a giant cake topped with sparklers.

“Congratulations, baby!” Mark shouted, and Jaehyun’s hands immediately flew up to cover his face. He heard Doyoung tell Mark to hand him the cake, and it was the only warning he got before Mark tackled him into a hug, bringing their lips together.

“Mark.” Jaehyun’s voice cracked, finally letting go of the flowers in favour of cradling Mark’s face in his hands. “God, I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Mark said happily, even in front of all these people who definitely had their phones out to record. Jaehyun was so overwhelmed by the love and affection that rushed through his body. Mark’s smile? Instant serotonin boost. “Now come on, you’ve got cake to eat, people to meet, and an after party to go to!”

“After party?” Jaehyun asked. 

“Taeyong planned it,” Mark whispered, leaning in until his lips brushed Jaehyun’s ear. “He also made the cake so if you don’t eat it, he’ll be sad.”

Jaehyun grimaced, thinking of the time he had forgotten to eat Taeyong’s birthday cupcakes and Taeyong had given him the cold shoulder for a week. It took two bags of kit-kats for Jaehyun to be forgiven.

Mark pulled away just as Taeyong popped up in front of Jaehyun, smearing icing on his nose and cheeks. Jaehyun reached for Mark’s hand, not wanting him to get lost in the crowd when they had barely spent any time together today.

“I have so much to tell you,” Jaehyun said to Mark, after his cheeks had been thoroughly kissed by Doyoung and Taeyong who wanted pictures. 

“And I can’t wait to listen,” Mark replied with a gentle smile, “but your adoring fans await, and you have a party to get to.”

Jaehyun looked at his friends; at Taeyong, Doyoung, Yukhei, and Johnny laughing together as they ate cake out of plastic cups; at Dejun taking photos of his teammates attempting to form a pyramid in the grass next to the flagpole; at Mark’s bandmates passing out flyers for their next gig; at Kun and Taeil talking to the girls from his alleged fanclub, still holding their banners. Then he turned back to Mark, his bright and beautiful boyfriend.

“Come with?” Jaehyun asked, raising their intertwined hands as he gestured to the crowd.

Mark smiled. “Always.”

The bass pounding through the speakers was making Jaehyun’s water vibrate in its bottle. He leaned on the counter and watched, too tired to mingle anymore. He had been congratulated a thousand times over, and he was grateful, but his energy had been sapped from the game and he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

Mark wasn’t faring any better, dozing off on Taeyong’s couch. He had fallen asleep twice already, and was sporting Sharpie whiskers on his face courtesy of Donghyuck. Jaehyun was trying to figure out the best escape route, but he was unsure of how to get past Taeyong who was standing in the kitchen, watching him like a hawk.

Johnny sidled up to him, his arm around Donghyuck’s shoulders. “Go home, I’ll distract Yongie.”

“Please take Mark with you, it’s past his bedtime,” Donghyuck added, giggling. Jaehyun saluted him, and watched as they trudged across the kitchen to distract Taeyong. He slid off his chair, padding over to the couch and shaking Mark’s shoulder to wake him.

“Baby.” He shook Mark harder. “Come on, let’s ditch.”

Mark squinted at him blearily, sitting up. He was still wearing Jaehyun’s jacket, his hands hidden in the sleeves as he struggled to get off the couch. “Huh, what about Yongie?”

“Johnny and Hyuck are distracting him,” Jaehyun answered, “but we probably don’t have a lot of time.”

“You sure you don’t wanna stay?” Mark said. “It’s your party after all.”

“I don’t want to stay, I want to make out with you in my car,” Jaehyun blurted out, and watched as Mark’s eyes darkened perceptibly, suddenly wide awake. He scrambled to his feet, his fingers encircling Jaehyun’s wrist as he led him through the crowd and out the front door. The cool night air felt like a blessing on Jaehyun’s skin as Mark dragged him down the sidewalk to where he had parked his car, immediately shoving Jaehyun into the backseat.

“I’ve been waiting for this all night,” Mark said with a wicked smile, climbing into Jaehyun’s lap. Jaehyun’s hands came to rest on Mark’s thighs as he pulled the door shut, and even in the dim street lights, Mark looked beautiful. 

“You look so good,” Jaehyun said in awe. 

“I know,” was all Mark said in reply before he connected their lips. He didn’t waste a second before licking past the seam of Jaehyun’s mouth, tracing his teeth forcibly with his tongue. Jaehyun gasped into the kiss, tightening his grip on Mark’s thick thighs, his thumb slipping into the rip in the denim. 

“I’m so,” Mark said between kisses, “fucking proud of you, you know that? I can’t believe I’m gonna take a champion to prom.”

“You’re taking Jungkook to prom?” Jaehyun teased, and received a pinch at the base of his neck for it. “Ow, I’m kidding.”

“Don’t joke about that,” Mark growled playfully, biting down on Jaehyun’s lower lip. “As if I’d go to prom with _anyone_ else when you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” Jaehyun echoed, pulling Mark down for another kiss. It was heated from the start, wet and messy as spit dripped down his chin. Mark tugged at his hair, deepening the kiss as he rolled his hips down. Jaehyun pushed his jacket off of Mark’s shoulders, exposing his bare arms as he ran his hands along Mark’s sides, slipping his fingers under Mark’s tank top. Mark shuddered when Jaehyun’s fingers skimmed his ribs, still icy from his water. 

“Fuck,” Mark whimpered into the kiss, the ring in his lip clacking against Jaehyun’s teeth. Jaehyun ran his tongue over the metal, pulling Mark closer until there wasn’t even a centimetre of space between them. 

Eventually they slowed down, kissing lazily as their mouths began to swell and ache. Mark climbed off of Jaehyun’s lap, lacing their fingers as they exchanged soft pecks. It was quiet in the car, neither of them feeling the need to break the silence by speaking. 

“Are you tired?” Jaehyun asked when he pulled away and found Mark’s eyes half lidded and glazed over.

“No,” Mark denied, yawning into Jaehyun’s face.

“You’re tired,” Jaehyun replied, amused. “Let’s go home?”

“Yeah,” Mark said sleepily, “let’s go home. Take me home, Jaehyun Jung.”

“With pleasure, Mark Lee.”

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/jaemarkism)   
>  [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/jaemarked)


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